


By Night One Way

by Fire_Bear



Series: OUAP Mystical Week [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Curse Breaking, Curses, Day 3, First Dates, First Meetings, Flirting, M/M, Magic, OUAPEvent Mystical Week, Witch Curses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 13:15:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13248996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Bear/pseuds/Fire_Bear
Summary: Keith saves a dolphin and meets an attractive young man who seems to be into him on the one day. But neither of those things are connected - right?





	By Night One Way

**Author's Note:**

> There are probably inaccurate stuff in this in regards to the dolphin stuff on the beach. But, y'know, plot. 
> 
> I kinda decided that I'd continue this at some point. Hopefully... I have very little idea of where this will go. Except the ending.

There was a dolphin on the beach.

Someone had suggested to Keith that it would be a good idea to do his running there: good views, pretty girls, sea air. Keith had really only taken up their suggestion when they added that it built up your muscles and burned more calories. So, putting on his running gear (grey joggers and a red vest top) and plugging his earphones into his phone, Keith had taken off. It had only been a few days since he'd changed his running route when he came upon a distressing sight.

The sun was still rising when he came upon the creature. It was rather small for a dolphin and he would have said it was a bottlenose – the only species of dolphin he really knew – if it weren't for the short snout. Dark blue skin surrounded the top fin part while it was white elsewhere. The fin on the top also had white edges which seemed to blend into the darker parts of it. The poor dolphin was close enough to the water that it was constantly getting wet but not enough for it to swim away. Weakly, it waved its tail.

Keith slowed and stared at it, trying to remember what exactly you were meant to do with a dolphin. As he looked at it, the creature shifted and seemed to look at him. Looking between it at and the water, Keith came to a decision and hoped he wasn't about to hurt it. Moving towards it, he placed his hands near the tail and shifted it around until it was sideways. Seeming distressed, the dolphin made its tail slap against the sand harder before seemingly losing energy.

With the dolphin side on, Keith moved until his feet were on either side of its side fins. Then he shoved as hard as he could and rolled the dolphin over. Apparently, that panicked the animal but Keith ignored it and kept shoving. Its fins slapped him as he rolled it, the side ones flapping almost as if it was a person panicking. Thankfully, Keith held his ground and, as his pants got soaked through, he kept pushing until he was waist deep. He paused then with the dolphin the right way up.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem as if the dolphin could swim in the shallow water. So Keith went back to his pushing, this time without rolling. The dolphin could float now and it stayed still as Keith pushed it onwards. Finally, with Keith up to his chest in water, the dolphin twisted from his grasp and swam away. Keith watch it go, smiling to himself when it leapt up in the distance, twisting in the air and trilling.

Once it was out of sight, Keith turned and waded back to the beach where he continued his run.

* * *

"I can't believe you're making me do this," Keith grumbled as they approached the club.

"Oh, come on, Keith!" said Shiro, grinning at him. "It'll do you good to get out and about. You might even meet someone." He winked at Keith and Keith rolled his eyes in response. "Besides, this is Matt's baby sister-"

"Not any more, she's not," Keith pointed out. "She's twenty-one – and she's gonna be _pissed_ that Matt's following her around."

"I heard my name!" said a voice and Keith and Shiro turned to see Matt approaching him. As usual on a night out, he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, this time in greens and yellows, over a plain white shirt. He looked ready for a day at the beach, rather than a club.

"Yeah. You're gonna hear someone yelling at you when we get in," Keith added, raising an eyebrow. "Katie's not gonna appreciate you turning up at her party."

Matt pouted and then frowned. "I don't think it's her party," he said, seriously. "It sounds like one of her friends – who's  _older_ than her and should _know_ better – hijacked it! Can you believe it? She probably wanted to stay at home with me and-"

"Okay, okay," said Keith, backing away as the queue moved forward. "Can we just get in so we can get this over with?"

"Aw, is someone grumpy we dragged him out of his Batcave?" Matt teased him. Shiro chuckled and Matt lit up, turning to Shiro to greet him properly.

Turning so he could watch for the queue moving, Keith watched them out of the corner of his eye. It was clear to him that Matt was infatuated with Shiro. Every time he and Shiro were in the same general vicinity, Matt would lock onto Shiro and act increasingly silly. Matt even threw in a few flirtatious comments – only for Shiro to think it was friendly teasing and respond in kind. Keith felt sorry for Matt. The poor guy had been like that for years but Shiro only seemed to have eyes for his boss, the beautiful Allura. But Shiro had never gotten up the courage to ask her and Matt didn't want to come between them and... Well, it was a mess.

And they had the cheek to say that  _Keith_ needed to find someone.

He rolled his eyes at his thoughts when they were let in, Matt already raring to go. As they stepped in from outside, the pounding noise they'd heard increased. Keith winced. This was definitely  _not_ his kind of music. They left their coats in the cloakroom and entered the main part of the club – where the music grew even louder and the words could finally be heard. Every time the bass pounded, it went straight through Keith, seemingly banging against his chest.

"So," he shouted over the music. "How are we gonna find Katie in this?"

"Come on!" Matt yelled and began to weave his way through the bodies writhing on the dance floor. He led them around the edges, peering at the occupants of each table. The large room was hot and Keith grew thirsty as they searched. His red button-up shirt had long sleeves and he regretted getting 'dressed up'.

After a while of following his cousin and his friend around, Keith decided he couldn't take it any more. Catching Shiro's elbow, he tugged the bigger man down to shout into his ear. "I'm gonna get a drink!"

"Okay," Shiro said distractedly, apparently still trying to find this Katie girl. Keith made a swift silent prayer that she'd be saved from the embarrassment.

He turned from his companions and began to fight his way through the crowd. Or, rather, sidle around the crowd. It took him a lot longer than it had to get into the club to reach the bar. Finally, he was able to squeeze alongside a tall guy his own age who was wearing a dark blue shirt and a blue glow stick as a crown. Peering along the bar, he could see that there was only one bartender who was practically dancing around the various bottles and glasses.

"The other one had to go in the back for something," came a voice and Keith jumped in surprise. He turned to find the tall guy looking at him, brow furrowed in puzzlement. This time, Keith looked at him properly. His skin was dark but looked incredibly smooth and flawless. Brown hair was curling around his face, a few strands flicking out from his sweaty neck. Sweat also glistened there as well as across his very visible collarbones, tempting Keith to lick it off. When he forced his gaze back up, Keith noticed his plump lips, pulled down into a frown. Blue eyes stared back at him. "Have I seen you somewhere before?" the man asked.

"Uh," said Keith, eloquently. "I, uh, don't think so?"

"No, no, you look so-" The man broke off and his eyes widened. "Ah, never mind."

"Huh?"

For a moment, the guy seemed to be making a decision. Then he smiled at Keith. "I suppose I couldn't know you. After all, I'd definitely remember someone as hot as you."

Keith blinked. Was he getting flirted with? Was this actually happening? Wait... "Did Shiro put you up to this?"

"Uh, who?" said the guy, smile faltering.

"Shiro."

"No..."

"Matt?"

"Matt?" The man tilted his head. "The only Matt I know is Pidge's big brother. What would he have to do with how hot you are? Unless he's, like, a make-up artist and you don't look like a wet dream when you roll out of bed in the morning."

"'We'-?" Keith could feel himself blushing. "I, uh. Sorry. Just. Um."

The man heaved a sigh. "It's okay." He turned away from Keith and managed to catch the bartender's attention.

Catching hold of the man's arm, not thinking further than that, Keith said, "Keith."

Blinking, the man looked at him. "What?" 

"That's my name."

He paused for a moment. Then the man turned back to the bartender. "French Martini and... whatever Keith here wants."

"Wait. No, you don't need to-"

"Do you see how busy the bar is, Keith?" asked his admirer, looking amused. "Don't hold them up."

"Er, all right. A Jack and Coke."

"Of course." The man – who had been leaning across the bar to be heard – relayed the order to the bartender before straightening again. "Lance," he said when he turned back to Keith.

"What?"

"That's my name," he replied, grinning.

"Oh. Lance."

"Yup. Don't wear it out: it's precious."

"Like you," said Keith before he could talk himself out of it.

Lance's eyes widened. "Wha-?" He cut himself off with a laugh and Keith was rather annoyed that he couldn't hear it properly. "Wow, such a smooth talker."

"People say it's recklessness," Keith commented with a shrug.

Leaning in, Lance murmured in Keith's ear. "I kinda like it." His drink was put on the counter and he scooped it up, his fingers looking rather elegant as they delicately wrapped around the glass. 

Keith couldn't help shuddering.

They stood in silence for a while, the music bulldozing its way through it. Lance's head bopped and his hips swayed in minuscule movements. Keith felt a sudden urge to abandon their drinks and pull Lance onto the dance floor, if only to watch Lance dance. To quell it, Keith grabbed his drink and took a big gulp. As he swallowed it down, he remembered that he'd been looking for something to help with his thirst, not alcohol. That was clearly out of the window now.

"Do you wanna come hang out with me and my friends?" Lance suddenly asked, plucking at Keith's sleeve. 

Gazing up at him, Keith nodded. "Yeah."

"Cool, come on. It's my friend's birthday so you gotta sing Happy Birthday to her when we get there."

* * *

As it turned out, Lance was the reason Katie – or Pidge, as she was apparently known – was having a birthday party in a club. According to Lance when he was explaining it to a glaring Matt, Pidge needed to experience a club at least once. Apparently, she had promised him that she'd do more stuff like that when she turned 21 and Lance had held her to it. Which meant that Pidge was sitting at a table, watching the dancers and looking bored. 

Another of their friends, Hunk, had bumped into his crush and was talking with her in the booth. Shiro and Matt were pressed up against each other on the other side and had been since Lance had dragged Keith over. Since there weren't enough chairs, Keith lounged against the back of Pidge's while Lance danced to the music. He wasn't doing big movements, just enough swaying and shifting to show off his body and create more sweat to entice Keith.

However, though he enjoyed watching Lance move, Keith wasn't enjoying himself. The music was too loud. People kept bumping into Lance and flirting with him. It took forever to get drinks. Their friends were ignoring them (or giving Keith winks and cheeky grins) or gave up trying to talk to them when they couldn't be heard. 

After a while, Lance leaned close to Keith to whisper in his ear. "Wanna go do something fun?" Keith was unable to stop himself gasping, though he was sure Lance couldn't hear it. He debated whether he should go with the man; he hardly knew him and he wasn't the type of person to do one night stands. Not when he was with his friends, anyway. But, when Lance drew back, Keith could see the twinkle in his eyes and he couldn't stop himself.

"Okay," he said and accepted Lance's hand. As Lance dragged him through the crowd, he glanced over his shoulder. He saw that Pidge was shaking her head, though she looked amused. Shiro winked at Keith when he caught his eye and he realised that, even though he didn't know Lance, he wouldn't be in any danger. Probably

Once they'd gotten out into the cool night air after a brief detour for their jackets, Lance glanced up at the sky then around them, taking a deep breath. His nose wrinkled when he got a whiff of what Keith could smell: alcohol, vomit, smoke and piss. When he turned to Keith, though, he was grinning. "You still wanna get drinks?"

"Yeah, sure. Why?"

"We can go to a bar, first. Or we could go to a diner – I've had a bit to drink so I should probably eat something." Lance shrugged a shoulder. "But I'm up for whatever."

"I thought..." said Keith slowly, frowning in confusion. "Aren't we going back to your place?"

Lance mock gasped but Keith could still see that mischievous glint in his eye. "What? You thought I was trying to drag you off for sex? Tsk, tsk, Keith." Lance grinned. "There's more than one way to have fun." He grabbed Keith's hand and began to pull him away from the club, dodging around the bouncers. "Besides," he added, "I live with Hunk and Pidge and it's Pidge's birthday. She'd kill me if I took someone home."

"Isn't that what she thinks you're doing?" Keith asked.

"Serves her right for assuming! Now, what d'ya wanna do?"

* * *

They ended up going to the diner. While Lance got a stack of pancakes, Keith got a basket of fries to nibble on. Lance bemoaned the fact that they weren't Hunk's pancakes (which were apparently the best pancakes in the world) but admitted they were pretty good. Once they'd finished that, Lance insisted on ice cream. 

As they ate, they talked about everything and anything. Keith learnt a lot and slowly came to terms with the fact that he was on an impromptu date. Apparently, Lance had a sweet tooth and preferred cocktails (which he winked at the mention of) to any other alcoholic drinks. His favourite colour was blue – hence the shirt. He was at college in the same year as Pidge having taken a couple of years out to save up for it. His course was an arts one where he was studying a mixture of art, theatre and music. Apparently, he was good on the guitar and often sang to his nephews and nieces and younger siblings when he went home for holidays. His favourite song was Space Oddity by David Bowie –  _which is an excellent song, Keith,_ shut up. Or maybe it was Mr. Brightside. Lance was rather indecisive about that. Any Disney film was his favourite but he particularly liked The Princess and the Frog. He'd grown up on a farm but his parents moved out of it so his older brother could take over during his last few years in high school.

After a while, Keith noticed that they were being glared at by one of the waitresses. They were the only people in the place and were probably preventing her closing up. He suggested making tracks but Lance had refused to let him go home. Keith couldn't tell if he was drunk or just enjoying himself too much but Keith had agreed to stick around. They ordered coffees to go and left to the obvious relief of the staff.

Lance suggested they go see a movie and Keith indulged him, though they bought their own tickets and paid for half of the snacks each. With a bucket of popcorn between them – which Lance insisted on – and their own drinks, they settled into the relatively empty screen. The film was a comedy and Keith was thankful he had let Lance choose it; he got to listen to Lance's laugh properly and it was beautiful. However, the plot was mediocre and Keith told him so. Offended, Lance threw a piece of popcorn at him and Keith responded in kind. By the end of the movie, Keith had half the bucket down the front of his shirt while Lance had popcorn down his back.

Once they'd made a detour to the bathroom to clean up, Keith noted that it was very late – or really early, depending on your viewpoint. When he pointed this out, Lance pouted. It broke Keith's heart to see him look so upset and he dithered, shifting uncertainly. Should he just leave? Should he invite Lance home? Should he give Lance his number and agree to another date?  _Should he kiss him_ ?

"Let's go to the beach!" exclaimed Lance, suddenly. " _Please_ ."

"At this time of night?" said Keith, grimacing. 

"It'll be fun. No-one else'll be there! And I bet it'll look pretty with the moon out and the-"

"But it'll be cold!" Keith protested. 

Grinning, Lance wrapped his arms around Keith's waist. The action made Keith still, his eyes wide. Drawing him close, Lance whispered into his ear. "We can keep each other warm..."

"Uh... That's not a good idea," Keith hurriedly told him, gripping him by the arms. It stopped Lance getting closer but also kept him where he was. Keith could only hope Lance wouldn't mind his hesitance. "I mean, the sand'll get everywhere."

With a loud laugh, Lance dropped his arms but didn't move back. "Ew! No, Keith! I meant  _cuddling_ ."

"Oh," said Keith quietly, his face burning. 

"Though I won't be opposed to some kissing," Lance said in a sing-song voice.

"Right," said Keith. He opened his mouth, realised that he'd just been convinced to stay with Lance once again, gave up and grabbed hold of Lance's hand. Lance grinned at him and he took off, leading Keith in the direction of the beach.

It took them some time to reach it as they walked the entire way, not bothering to find a cab. By the time they reached it, the moon was already setting. Stars still shone in the clear sky, more and more coming into view the more they stared. Lance almost tripped over his own feet as he tried to make out the North Star while they walked down the stairs to the sand. Once they'd gotten onto level ground, they stood, hand in hand, and pointed out the different constellations to each other. 

When their necks grew sore, they looked down to the dark waters which were in the process of going back out. The sand looked grey and cold. To Keith, it looked like all the colour had been drained from the world or that they'd found themselves in film noir. He told Lance that and he laughed.

"Well, dollface," said Lance in an imitation of a film noir detective. "When the chips are down, who will you put your loyalty in? A damned murderer or-?"

"You, I think," said Keith, hoping to stop Lance's God-awful speech.

Lance blinked. "What, really? You would really give me an alibi if I was being arrested or something?"

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Keith said, chuckling.

It took Lance a moment to respond but he finally said, "You look good like that."

Keith blinked. "Like what?"

Smiling, Lance shrugged. "Just in general." 

Staring at him, Keith felt his lips part in surprise. It wasn't quite a jaw drop but it was enough for him to glance at Lance's lips. He really wanted to kiss him, all of a sudden. Would Lance get freaked out by that? Did Lance want to kiss him, too? Should he do it right now-?

"Come on!" said Lance, dragging Keith from his reverie. Before Keith could react, Lance grabbed his hand and pulled him further down the beach. Halfway towards the water, Lance let go of Keith's hand, pulled his jacket off and laid it on the ground. Then he dropped down and, once Keith had copied his actions, dragged Keith down with him. Keith watched in dismay as his black jeans were promptly covered in sand. Pouting to himself, he watched Lance take off his shoes and socks before digging his toes into the ground. Lance shivered.

"Told you it'd be cold," Keith said.

"Oh, yeah," said Lance, as if he'd just remembered something. Then, without any hesitation or awkwardness, Lance put his arm around Keith's waist and tugged him closer. Keith willingly went, letting himself lean into Lance's side, wrapping his own arms around him. "Thanks," he heard Lance say, the vibrations of his voice felt against Keith's body. "For hanging out with me, anyway."

"Thanks for inviting me," Keith replied, delighting in the chuckle that that drew from Lance.

They fell silent then, watching the waves receding. Lance murmured a few things but Keith didn't pay much attention, only humming in response. The night was catching up with him and he could feel his eyelids drooping. Several times, Keith blinked his eyes open, trying to concentrate on what Lance was saying. But, as Lance's thumb began to rub circles into his hip, he gave in to the inevitable and let his eyes slide shut.

* * *

He was woken a while later by a jolt. Opening his eyes, he blinked in surprise to find the beach was still in darkness, though it was a lighter one. The stars were in the process of disappearing from view of the naked eye. A dark cloud was passing overhead, moving from east to west and obscuring the sun. Beside him, Lance was struggling with the pocket in his tight pants.

"What're you doing?" Keith mumbled, keen to go back to sleep. He had never felt so comfortable and never slept so well before.

"What time is it?!" Lance exclaimed, loud enough to cut through Keith's sleepiness. 

Brushing sand off his hands, Keith frowned at him. "Dunno?" he said, rubbing at his eyes, watching Lance panic. "Must be early morning, though, right? I mean, the sun's coming up."

"Is it?!" Lance finally pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit a button. The bright light made them both squint but Lance quickly leaned closer. On the screen, the time was written in large letters:  **06:26** . "Oh, shit!" Lance exclaimed. He scrambled to his feet.

"Are you supposed to be at work or something?" Keith asked as he slowly did the same. He bent over to slap the sand from his jeans. "I mean, if you have a job. I don't remember you saying anything about that bu-" He stopped when Lance's shirt landed on the ground next to him. Keith froze, ass still in the air as he stared at it. Why would Lance be taking off his shirt-? Oh, and there was his belt with the soot spirit from Spirited Away stuck on the buckle. Slowly straightening, Keith watched in confusion as Lance pushed his pants down, struggling to get it off his foot. "What are you doing?" Keith inquired, wondering if he should make a run for it.

"I need to get to the water!" Lance cried, finally getting his pants off.

"Why-?" Keith began but he gave a yell as Lance pulled down his trunks. Spinning around, he almost fell over. "What are you  _doing_ ?" he snapped. Then, with his heart still hammering and his body significantly warmer, Keith's brain kicked into gear. "Oh. Are-Are you going... skinny dip-"

"Sort of," said Lance, hurriedly. "There's an alcove under the stairs. Can you put my stuff there?"

Keith almost turned around before remembering that Lance was naked. "Why? We can just come-"

"I'm sorry," said Lance, sounding desperate. 

Confused, Keith turned around and saw Lance running awkwardly towards the sea, stumbling every few steps. It was a lot further than it had been when they'd sat down and he had some way to go but he was soon splashing through the shallow water. Keith looked down at his pile, wondering why Lance wanted him to take care of it instead of joining him. When he looked back up, there was a sudden flash which blinded him momentarily. He stumbled backwards a few steps, face screwed up as he blinked the light away. Finally, he could see and he looked up.

Lance was gone.

There was a dolphin flapping its fins at the edge of the sea. 

Staring at the scene, Keith tried to make sense of the situation. He could only think of two explanations. The first was that Lance had tripped and fallen and was in the process of drowning. It didn't explain the dolphin but it made Keith start running as well, wincing as his jeans chafed at him and at the feeling of sand in his shoes.

He reached the edge of the water and looked around. "Lance!" he called. The dolphin gave an answering trill. "Lance!" he tried again, beginning to panic. Again, the dolphin trilled, almost sounding sad. Keith froze and slowly turned to the struggling creature. He looked between it and the pile of clothes.

The second explanation was staring him in the face.

Slowly, he made his way to the dolphin and leaned down. "Lance?" he said, quietly. The dolphin responded, shifting so that it could see Keith as it made its trilling noise once again. "What-? I don't understand..."

Lance – the dolphin – made another sound, this one weaker than the others. Keith's eyes widened as he spotted the weak flapping of Lance's fins. He looked around, wondering what exactly was going on. Then he shook his head, took a breath and reached out to the dolphin. When Lance made another noise, Keith paused.

"Um," he said. "I'm gonna roll you into the sea, okay? I-I don't know if that'll hurt you but at least you'll be able to get out of the sun?" 

Again, the dolphin –  _Lance_ – made a chirping sound. Keith took that to mean he had Lance's permission and pulled him around until he was perpendicular to the waterline. Then, bracing himself in the wet sand, Keith pushed Lance forward, rolling him over. Lance's fins helplessly waved in the air, almost smacking Keith in the face several times. Gritting his teeth to keep from snapping at him, Keith continued his work, moving further and further out. His clothes got drenched and he could feel his jeans sticking to his skin. He was not looking forward to taking them off.

When he was up to his chest in water, his shirt's buttons slipping from their holes to leave it flapping around him, he was suddenly hit by a fin. He gasped as he fell backwards and only just saw Lance turning himself over. As he landed in the water, getting completely soaked, Keith saw Lance's tail lift up and slap down. Keith went under the water for a brief moment and came up spluttering. He watched a shape swim away from him as more light let him see the tangled seaweed around his legs. A few moments later, a dolphin jumped out of the sea, twisting around almost acrobatically. It jumped out a few more times, the final one showing the water glistening on its skin as the sun finally peeked over the buildings behind him.

Looking down at himself, he sighed at the state he was in. He hoped no-one would question him on his walk back to his apartment. Turning, he made his way back to the beach and recalled the dolphin he'd helped the day before. Had that been Lance as well? Was it a coincidence they had met in the club or had Lance followed him? And how was all this possible?

Again, he sighed – his curiosity wasn't about to let this go.

* * *

Later that day, once he'd gotten dried and had put on clothes he didn't mind getting wet – a pair of black joggers and a black t-shirt – Keith made his way back to the coast. Hiring a speedboat from a tourist hut, Keith clambered in and, after being shown how to operate it, guided it slowly out of the docks. He rounded the beachhead and travelled down to the part of the beach they had been sitting on. Once there, he turned off the engine and looked around. In the distance, he could see the people on the beach. Some were jogging; others were obviously on their Spring Break as they lazed around to get a tan; children waved spades around as they argued over their sandcastles. Laughter carried to him as if to emphasise how good a time everyone was having.

He turned from the scene and leaned over the side, searching for movement. After a while, Keith called out across the water. "Lance!" He waited a few moments, he repeated the call. Uncaring of what the people on the beach would think, he kept it up, waiting for an entire minute before calling out once more. Finally, he saw a shadow moving towards him from afar. It got bigger as it moved and, suddenly, the dolphin leapt out of the water before sliding through the waves again. Keith gave him a quick once over and confirmed that it was the same dolphin he'd helped the day before. 

With a small splash, the head of the dolphin emerged and bumped against the side of the boat. Keith couldn't help but smile at the happy grin on his face. "There you are," he said and Lance trilled in reply. Then the dolphin seemed to tilt his head. The trill almost seemed to be questioning him when the dolphin did that.

"I wanted to tell you that I put your stuff where you wanted me to."

A happy, perhaps grateful trill.

"And I want an explanation."

The dolphin's head ducked down out of sight before emerging once more with a sad-sounding trill. 

"So it's a sad story, huh?"

An affirmative chirp.

"I take it magic's involved?"

A series of trills.

"You know I don't understand that. I take it you'll be yourself when the sun goes down?"

An affirmative chirp.

"Well, whenever that happens, come to my place." Keith gave Lance his address. 

There was a pause before there was another trill, sounding a little small.

Keith frowned at him. "I... don't really understand that one."

Another trill.

"Never mind. Anyway, if you don't turn up at my place tonight then... I suppose I can assume you don't want to... continue from last night, I suppose."

A louder trill. It sounded happier.

Smiling slightly, Keith hesitantly held out a hand. He kept it a hair's breadth away from Lance's nose. It took a second but Lance finally moved up, bumping into Keith's hand. His smile widened and he pressed the palm of his hand against Lance's nose. Keith imagined it was like a peck on the cheek. It encouraged Keith and he was reluctant to move away from the edge of the boat.

"I'll see you later, then."

Lance trilled and Keith watched him swim away, leaping into the air in a farewell. Once he was out of sight, Keith turned back to the engine starting it up. It didn't take him long to get back to the dock and he made his way home, picking up things for a dinner for two.

* * *

At 8pm that night, there was a knock on Keith's door. He had looked up when the sun would set and he had plates of spaghetti bolognese on his little kitchen table. A glass of water was waiting for Lance and he had a glass of orange juice. Satisfied that everything was ready and that he looked all right with his red-checked shirt and black jeans, he made his way down the small hall and answered it. 

"Hey," said Lance, sheepishly. He was wearing the same stuff as the night before and there were bits of sand in his hair. Clearly, he had come straight to Keith's from the beach. All in all, Lance looked a lot less put-together than Keith and he felt like an idiot for dressing up for this. Whatever this was, it wasn't a second date, as much as he wanted it to be.

Swallowing down his disappointment, Keith said, "Hi."

"I, uh," said Lance. "Should-Should I come in?"

"Ah, yeah. Just... Could you take off your shoes?" Keith stepped aside to let him enter which he did, rather reluctantly. "And, um, come into the kitchen."

"The kitchen?" asked Lance, glancing up at him worriedly.

"Yeah. I made dinner."

Lance froze while he stood on only one leg. He wobbled and caught himself on the cream-coloured wall. "You... You made me dinner?" he asked, a little breathlessly.

"Yeah. Just something simple."

They went through and settled themselves at the table. Lance looked ecstatic. He gulped down the water and scoffed the food. Thankfully, he wasn't a messy eater and he slowed as he got halfway through the plateful. Keith waited until he seemed a little calmer before starting the questions.

"So," he said as he twisted his pasta around his fork, "what the hell?"

Grimacing, Lance swallowed down his mouthful. "Well... It's a curse. Have you seen Shrek?"

"Yeah. So you're stuck as a dolphin for the day and a man at night?"

"Exactly. Which is a real pain because I  _do_ have my exams and stuff during the day." Lance paused and lowered his fork, his eyes fixed on the meal. "I can't afford to go through this year again," he murmured. 

"How long's this been going on for?" Keith asked, puzzled. "I mean, it doesn't sound like you've been doing this since you were a child."

"It's a recent thing." Lance grabbed up his fork and poked at what was left on his plate. "I... may have been a bit of an idiot," he reluctantly admitted.

"What do you mean?" 

"Well, I'm sure you noticed how suave and charming I am."

Taken aback, Keith stared at him. When Lance wiggled his eyebrows, Keith rolled his eyes. "Of course."

Lance chuckled before sighing. "I, y'know... I've been on a lot of dates in the past year or so. I just can't find  _the one_ , y'know? About a month or so ago... I gave up." Lance grimaced. "I, er, I hadn't been in a relationship in a while and it had been far too long since I'd had a sex life- Ah, sorry!"

Keith coughed and grabbed his glass, having choked on a mouthful of pasta. "W-What's that got to do with anything?" he gasped once he'd gotten his breath back.

Having tensed when Keith started coughing, Lance relaxed. "Sorry. Well, I started... looking for one night stands."

Freezing in the act of lowering his glass to the table, Keith looked up at him, eyes wide. Lance grimaced at him. "Was that what you were doing last night?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. You saved me yesterday and, when I saw you in the club, I just..." Lance shrugged. "I don't really know what I was thinking but I convinced you to hang out and I was having fun and I didn't want it to end... It's why I got stuck again – I didn't want to move while you were sleeping and then  _I_ fell asleep."

Staring at him suspiciously, Keith hummed. "Well, what does sex have to do with anything?"

"I kind of started up a friends-with-benefits situation," Lance told him, waving his fork around, thankfully without any food on it. "At least, an acquaintance-with-benefits situation. I didn't really know him before we had sex the first time. It was supposed to be a one night stand but he said he wanted to see me again and we just... y'know. We didn't talk much. Just..."

"Had sex," Keith finished for him.

"Yeah." Lance grimaced again. Then he looked up at him. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone. It's just that... I didn't really know what I wanted from the... relationship. I wasn't ready to commit or be rejected again. And then he sprung spending the holidays with him on me and I panicked and told him it was only sex and then-"

"He cursed you?" Keith suggested. "Kinda sounds like you deserved it."

"I know," said Lance seriously, no suggestion of teasing or self-pitying in his voice. "I did. I deserved it. And I apologised. Every night for a week. But he told me to go away, to leave him alone. And he won't tell me how to  _fix this_ ." Lance took a deep breath, looking upset. Compared to the cheerful man from the night before, this version of Lance made Keith uneasy. It didn't suit him.

"Maybe you should ask him to be in a proper relationship-?" 

"No," said Lance, firmly. "We're not right for each other, I know that now. We're just... I don't feel anything but... well, lust, for him. We both want different things from each other. Neither of us really knew each other." He paused. "Though, he  _did_ know how to get me comi-"

"Stop!" Keith cried, cringing away from him. There was a short silence wherein Lance took a sip from his water. "So, what you're saying is that you wronged a witch and he cursed you?" Lance nodded. "Have you tried True Love's Kiss?" Keith suggested.

"Have you been listening to the whole 'one night stand' bit?" Lance asked incredulously, rolling his eyes.

Keith's eyes narrowed. "Don't be snippy with  _me_ . I'm only trying to help you out of a mess that you got yourself into."

Lance blinked. "You... Why? And why are you being so calm about this?"

"Magic makes sense, in the grand scheme of things," Keith said with a shrug. "The world's a weird place and I  _saw_ you turn into a dolphin. I've had all day to come to terms with it and... it's not that big a leap from, well, Mothman."

"'Mothman'? What-? I don't even... Wait, I think I've heard that before-"

"Forget about that for now," Keith said, waving his hand at him. "We need to figure out how to lift the curse."

Shrugging, Lance finally set down his fork. "I've been thinking recently that there is no cure. I'm gonna be stuck like this forever."

"Well, have you kissed anyone since the curse got placed on you?"

"No. I told you, I'm having trouble with relationships."

"Not even with one night stands?"

"I don't have time for that," Lance explained. "I had to take all the night shifts at work  _and_ I need to catch up on my lessons and work on my assignments. I can't do any of that as a dolphin."

"Ah. True."

"I only have the weekends and I haven't been able to find anyone recently. You're the first one in a while..."

"And we never kissed," said Keith, knowing full well he was blushing.

"You don't have to force yourself-"

"I want to help-"

"Are you in love with me?" Lance demanded. When Keith paused, he gave him a wry smile. "See? You're not. It won't work and... I had fun last night, without any sex or kissing. I don't want to ruin... that. Besides, I bet Lotor wouldn't have made it so easy."

"Then we need to find this Lotor and make him tell us what to do," said Keith, decisively. He stood, grabbed his plate, scraped the scraps into the trashcan and put the plate in the sink. When he turned around, Lance was watching him with a shocked expression.

"What? Right now?" he asked.

"Yeah. What, are you waiting for some sort of sign?" Keith demanded. He grabbed Lance's plate and went through the same process before dealing with the glasses. "Where's he live?"

"You... You really wanna help me? Why?"

Keith didn't answer for a moment. The truth was that he didn't know why he was helping. He only knew that his heart had been beating faster than normal around Lance since he'd met him. Last night had been fun and he wanted more nights like that. More days like that. He even wanted to get him into the bedroom – but without a dolphin crushing him in the morning. Besides, this was the most interesting thing that had happened so far this year and he was excited to be a part of an adventure.

"Because I want to," he said, turning back to Lance.

The cursed man gave him a winning smile and his heart skipped a beat. "Thank you," Lance said, sincerely. "You're quite literally my hero."

Lance leapt to his feet and hurried off to find his shoes. Keith watched him go, heart pounding, breathing short. Biting his lip, he hoped that he'd actually be able to help Lance and not let him down.

**Author's Note:**

> Lance is a Dusky Dolphin and I took the description from [this site](http://www.dolphins-world.com/dusky-dolphin/).


End file.
